Apple sets revenue record driven by strong sales in India, beats estimates

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the company achieved a new revenue record in its fiscal 2024 third-quarter ending June 29, over two dozen countries, including India

Apple has reported its fiscal 2024 third-quarter results, ending June 29, with revenue reaching $85.8 billion, a 5 per cent Y-o-Y increase, beating analysts’ average estimates of $84.5 billion.

During an investor call, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the company achieved a new revenue record in over two dozen countries, including India. Cook said, “We also set quarterly revenue records in more than two dozen countries and regions, including Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, the UK, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.”

Apple reported earnings per diluted share of $1.40 for the quarter, an 11 per cent year-over-year rise. The company’s strong business performance generated nearly $29 billion in operating cash flow, allowing Apple to return over $32 billion to shareholders.

The board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.25 per share, payable on August 15, 2024, to shareholders of record as of August 12, 2024.

Additionally, Apple’s CFO Luca Maestri reported a 2 per cent year-over-year increase in Mac revenue. Maestri noted, “We saw particularly strong performance in our emerging markets, with June quarter records for Mac in Latin America, India, and South Asia.” This growth was attributed to the success of the M3-powered MacBook Air.

Breaking down the quarterly revenues, Apple reported iPhone sales of $39.30 billion, a slight decrease of 0.94 per cent year-over-year, according to Bloomberg. This was expected with the upcoming launch of the iPhone 16 series in September, as the third quarter typically sees lower iPhone revenue for Apple, it said.

Conversely, Mac sales increased by 2.46 per cent to $7.01 billion, and iPad sales surged by 23.63 per cent to $7.16 billion, marking a turnaround from the previous quarter when both Mac and iPad revenues were down.

Sales of Apple Watch and AirPods, however, did not perform as well, with the wearables, home, and accessories category generating $8.10 billion, a 2.26 per cent decline, the report noted.

On the other hand, Services revenue continued its growth, reaching $24.21 billion, a 14.14 per cent year-over-year increase, Bloomberg reported. Cook highlighted this as an all-time revenue record.

Cook expressed his enthusiasm about the potential of AI to enhance customer experiences and announced Apple’s commitment to significant investments in AI technology. He explained that Apple Intelligence would be integrated into various daily-use apps, improving user experience in a natural and exciting manner.